Leather, Suede and Raffia: Caring for The Row Bags
Buy one of these bags and you quickly notice what is missing. No logo plaque, no coated canvas, no heavy hardware taking the knocks. Instead you have a great deal of exposed surface: calfskin wearing its grain openly, lambskin linings, suede that marks at almost nothing, and in summer an unsealed raffia weave. The material, not a finish laid over it, carries almost the whole care burden of The Row bags. The result is a bag that is simple to maintain and merciless when you get it wrong.
This guide is organised by material, because that is where the real decisions sit. Take a grained calfskin tote and a suede top handle from the same season and they need opposite handling, and a sisal bag asks for something else entirely.
Before anything else: a caveat about care instructions
Nothing resembling a public care protocol has been issued, because The Row does not publish one. There is no manual, no published cleaning chart and no brand-approved product line sold alongside them. What follows is accordingly material-appropriate general guidance, based on how calfskin, lambskin, suede, canvas and raffia actually behave rather than from any instructions the label has issued. A good leather specialist would be cautious, conservative and the row shoulder bags biased toward doing less, and so should you. Anyone presenting a definitive brand-issued cleaning routine for these bags is filling a gap rather than quoting a source. Before anything goes onto a bag you care about, ask a professional.
Habits that matter more than any product
Most damage to a good bag comes from routine handling, and the fixes are all behavioural. Nothing distorts a soft silhouette faster than overfilling, and it is the mistake owners make most often with the Margaux and the Park Tote. Adjusting the shape is what the belted side gussets on the Soft Margaux are for, not making room for more. Sunlight dries and fades leather; radiators and car dashboards do it quicker still. Unfinished surfaces suffer more from rain than people expect, and suede and raffia have almost no defence against it. No product on a shelf covers as much ground as simply keeping a bag away from sun, heat and water.
- Nothing stays in a stored bag, least of all receipts or anything that can transfer colour.
- Leave a soft bag hanging by its handles and the drop stretches, so do not do it.
- Pens, keys and cosmetics belong in a pouch, not loose against the lining.
- Clean hands before touching pale calfskin or untreated suede.
Calfskin in its four forms: smooth, grained, saddle and polished
Calfskin is the spine of the line and it is the most forgiving material in it. Where smooth calfskin shows scuffs and shine, matte grained calfskin hides them, and polished saddle leather sits between them. Routine care is a buff with a soft dry cloth after use, following the grain and giving attention to the corners and base where dirt collects. A neutral conditioner may be used sparingly and infrequently, tested first on a hidden panel, and the emphasis belongs on both words. Too much conditioner darkens hide unevenly, produces a tacky surface and softens structure you meant to keep. Pale calfskin also picks up dye from dark denim, so keep light-coloured bags away from indigo, and never scrub at a transferred mark, as scrubbing spreads it further.
Nappa and lambskin, mostly on the inside
These two appear more often as linings than exteriors, which changes the way you protect them. Lambskin lines the Margaux Shoulder and the Bourse Clutch sets a calfskin exterior against a nappa lining, so the softest material in the bag is the one your keys sit against. Both are exceptionally soft, both take marks easily, and neither takes kindly to being worked on. The correct answer is a dry soft cloth, nothing more, used lightly and rarely. Because these hides are already supple, conditioner should be avoided altogether, since over-treatment leaves a greasy sheen that will not come out. The real protection is a pouch inside the bag rather than a product applied to it.
Suede, the most demanding material in the line
At this label suede is consistently dearer, and the care it needs rises to match. Observed 2026 market prices spell the gap out: India 10.00 sits at $3,850 in leather against $5,370 in suede, and Agnes 15 runs $5,000 in leather against $5,800 in suede. What the premium buys is a nap that flattens, absorbs and stains more readily than any finished hide. Caring for suede is mechanical, not chemical, which is the thing most owners miss. A dedicated suede brush, used gently in one direction, lifts the nap and clears surface dust, and that alone handles most routine wear. Anything wetter than that belongs to a professional.
- Give it a light brush after each wear, following the nap rather than scrubbing across it.
- Dry a wet bag naturally at room temperature, clear of radiators and hairdryers, and brush only when it is fully dry.
- Work dry marks away with a suede eraser and the lightest pressure.
- Anything oily, coloured or set goes to a leather specialist rather than attempting it yourself.
What should never touch suede makes a short, absolute list: no leather cream, no conditioner, no wet wipes, no soap and no water-based cleaner. What you get is a matted nap, or a ring that shows in every light. Regular brushing achieves more across a year than any treatment, which makes the realistic standard prevention rather than repair.
The unserviceable materials: raffia, sisal, canvas, nylon, silk and satin
These are the least serviceable materials the brand uses, and they ought to be bought with that in mind. Because these are not tanned surfaces, conditioning is meaningless and a stained panel cannot be refinished. Hard scrubbing and solvents will distort the weave and leave a clean patch that reads as damage, even though both wear well otherwise. Permanent marking from water and skin oils is the risk on silk and satin, the small evening bags and knotted crossbody shapes included. Across all of them, the only home treatment worth attempting is spot-cleaning with a barely damp cloth and quick blotting. Because prevention carries the entire load here, rain and sunscreen are the two things to avoid completely.
| The material | Routine care | Never do this |
|---|---|---|
| Calfskin in grained and smooth form | Soft dry cloth as standard, with neutral conditioner only sparingly and rarely | Frequent conditioning; soaking a stain |
| Nappa or lambskin | A dry, soft cloth, and only light pressure | Conditioner and cream alike |
| Suede | A suede brush and eraser; professional cleaning where there are stains | Cream, soap, wet wipes, water-based cleaners |
| The raffia, sisal, canvas and nylon pieces | Spot-clean and blot; air-dry | Immersion, solvents, hard scrubbing |
| Silk and satin | Professional cleaning; keep it dry | Any do-it-yourself cleaning |
Hardware, linings and the parts people forget
The fittings are palladium-plated with a matte or brushed finish, and that finish is the thing to protect. Metal polish has no place here: made for shine, it burnishes a deliberately soft finish into something that no longer matches the bag. Wipe buckles and feet with a dry cloth, and dry them off if they get wet, so moisture does not sit in the join. The engraving on the Margaux buckles and base feet holds dust, and a soft brush clears it better than a cloth. Cotton herringbone linings, as used in the Soft Margaux 10 and 12, should be vacuumed out rather than washed. Inspect the stitching at the handle roots from time to time, because spotting a loose thread early turns a large repair into a small one.
Between wears: storage that works
Good bags deteriorate quietly in storage, and the fix is cheap. Store it in its own dust bag, with just enough stuffing to hold the shape and not stretch the sides. Use acid-free tissue, or a soft cotton scarf; newspaper will not do, as the ink transfers. Store bags upright on a shelf rather than stacked under others, since these silhouettes keep their shape empty and lose it under weight. Dark, dry and ventilated is what the space needs, with no sealed plastic boxes to trap humidity against leather. Rotating what you carry counts for more than owners expect, because a resting bag recovers its form.
When to hand it to a professional
Crossing the maintenance-to-restoration line at home is how good row handbags are ruined, and that line is clear enough. Send colour loss, ink, oil, water rings on suede and stretched handles to a leather specialist. The same goes for structural work, loose stitching at a stress point or a lining torn away from its seam included. Because techniques built for coated canvas do not transfer, ask whether the specialist has handled unlogoed luxury calfskin. Expect a good one to test discreetly and to tell you when a mark cannot be lifted cleanly, because some marks on untreated hide never will be. One competent job costs less than the resale discount that follows a botched attempt at home.